Busy Aussies don’t leave breakfast drinks just for brekkie

The meal that is widely considered to be the most important of the day is regularly missed by almost a quarter of Australians—though few have time for breakfast-in-the-bottle alternatives.

According to new market research, just one in 10 Australians who say they seldom have time to sit down for breakfast consume items such as Up & Go and Nutri-Grain Breakfast Fuel each week.

Indeed, even people with little time for breakfast are considerably more likely to eat cereal or porridge than consume a breakfast drink, Roy Morgan Research found.

Meanwhile, corn flakes and muesli were found to be the most widely consumed breakfast choice among both the general population (33%) and among those people who said they seldom had time to eat breakfast (24%).

Biscuit cereals like Weetbix were in second place, consumed by 24% of Australians overall and 19% of those who said they were pressed for time, ahead of porridge (21% vs 13%).

Although breakfast drink brands have not made huge inroads among those who rarely have time for breakfast, an interesting corollary emerges when breakfast-drink consumers are broken down, said Norman Morris, the market research agency’s communications director.

Of all the Australians who consume breakfast drinks in an average week, only 38% claim to seldom have time for breakfast. Which raises the question: are so-called breakfast drinks being consumed as “non-breakfast​” beverages too?

“Although 23% of the population say they seldom have time for breakfast, Roy Morgan data shows that this doesn’t necessarily mean they never eat it. More than 40% still manage to squeeze in some kind of cereal in an average week and 21% eat porridge—a much greater proportion than those who opt for liquid breakfasts like Up & Go​,” said Morris.

“But even though these drinks tend to be marketed as a healthy breakfast substitute for people on the go, the majority of people consuming them do have time for breakfast. And given the overwhelming popularity of cereal and porridge, it’s fair to conclude that many people are consuming breakfast drinks for ‘non-breakfast’ purposes—as they would, say, a protein drink or an energy drink​.”

While people who consume breakfast drinks are markedly more likely than average to report that they seldom have time to have breakfast, they’re even more likely to agree that they “sometimes buy drinks that boost my energy,​” the research also found.

“They also show an elevated tendency to ‘look for drinks with added ingredients that are good for my body’,​” Morris added. Up & Go, for example, which accounts for 80% of the breakfast drink market, is marketed as being high in fibre and calcium, with protein and essential vitamins and minerals.

“With credentials like that, it would certainly be on the radar of people who like a nutritious boost to their beverages​.”